This invention relates to the field of foldable saw horses.
Prior art devices of this kind have been made primarily of metal. The present invention uses ordinary wood two-by-fours for the cross bar and legs, with a universal type hinge bracket assembly for connecting the wood legs to the wood cross beam in a way that enables the legs to first fold together from the spread apart working position, and to then fold against the cross beam in side-by-side relationship for the final folded position.
Advantages of using wood two-by-fours for the construction are ease of manufacture, stability of the saw horse, relative economy of materials, durability of wood for long periods of time without rusting, corrosion and other deteriorating characteristics of many metals less danger of damage to saw blades, drills and other tools which inadvertently cut through work pieces being held on the saw horse, to nails and spikes which may be inadvertently driven completely through a work piece, and nails can be driven into the legs as well as the cross beam of a wooden saw horse for connecting braces and other items thereto, for nailing in place to the floor, and the like. Also, if a leg becomes broken, it is a relatively simple matter to saw another two-by-four of appropriate length, cut away the upper portion to provide a diagonal bearing surface to bear against cross beam so the leg will extend outwardly at an oblique angle, and connect the hinge bracket assembly thereto by ordinary wood screws. In other words, the saw horse in accordance with the present invention can be readily repaired for use indefinitely into the future.
Prior art saw horses of the foldable type made primarily of metal are typically thrown into the junk heap as soon as one leg or other part becomes broken, since the cost to repair may exceed the price of a new one and in any event there are fewer people readily available to make repairs to metal devices. Also metal parts for foldable saw horses of the metal type are virtually non-existent. They would have to be custom made, or made from other scrap parts if such could be found that could somehow be adapted for replacement of the broken metal part.
Wood two-by-fours and workmen with saws are always readily available at every construction project, which is all that is needed to replace or repair a broken leg or broken cross beam of a foldable saw horse in accordance with the present invention.